Asus' new smartphone Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro made its debut in India on September 21 and is available exclusively on Flipkart.
As the name suggests, the key aspect of the Asus phone is its selfie camera. It houses not one, but two shooters, which are rarely found in any class of phones in India. It is touted to be the world's first mobile to boast 4K selfie video capability.
Besides the camera, the new Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro also comes with a pretty solid build quality and internal hardware, as well. We have been using the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro review unit for a couple of days and here's our initial impression of the Asus flagship camera phone.
Design, display and build quality:
Asus' 2016-series Zenfone 3 models are unarguably the best-looking phones in the market, especially the concentric-effect of the glass back was exceptional, but the only qualm is it's prone to fingerprint smudges. This year, the company has taken a notch up with the Zenfone 4 series.
The phone has all-metal body design language and it comes with beautifully carved metal shell on the back and guess what, it repels fingerprint smudges.
Despite the generous use of metal, it is very light to hold and we can feel the premium quality of the material.
On the front, it flaunts 5.5-inch full HD super AMOLED display, which is not only power efficient, but also brings out rich viewing experience compared to the previous generation. On top, it comes with additional layer of 2.5D glass cover on top adding value to the device's visual appeal.
Processor, RAM and storage:
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro houses Qualcomm's popular mid-range Snapdragon 625 Octa-core and is backed by sumptuous 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage with option to expand up to 2TB via micro SD card.
During our brief time with the Zenfone 4 Selfie, it was responding quick in terms of the loading of apps and switching between the multiple apps.
Zenfone 4 Selfie runs Android Nougat and will get Android Oreo update in coming months. This apparently gives the Asus phone an edge over the direct competitors such as Vivo V5 Plus and Oppo F3 Plus.
Camera:
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie boasts state-of-the-art camera hardware, especially in the front. It houses 24MP snapper with duo Pixel Camera Technology, Sony IMX362 sensor, f1.8 aperture,1.4µm pixel size, EIS (Electronics Image Stabilisation), 4K video recording, DTI (Diffusion Tensor Imaging) Technology, Super Pixel Technology and is assisted by secondary 5MP shooter with f/2.2, 120-degree wide angle angle field of view and softlight LED flash.
To further enhance the photography experience, Asus has incorporated proprietary Selfie Master technology, where in user can use tools such as photo & video beautification, live stream beautification, photo collage and mini movie to create personalised photographs and videos.
We took some sample selfie shots with my cousin's pet pomeranian puppy and the Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro did not disappoint at all, but we will reserve the final judgement after we carry more tests in varying light conditions.
Even the rear camera too took really good snaps. It comes packed with 16 MP snapper with Sony IMX351 sensor, f/2.2 aperture, Dual Pixel PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus), EIS, 4K video recording, Raw File Support, DTI technology, Super Pixel technology, Portrait Mode (Bokeh Mode), and Softlight LED flash.
Battery:
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro houses a standard 3,000mAh battery, which is more than enough to run for a whole day under mixed usage. It also boasts fast charging feature.
Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro: First impression
All-in-all, Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro is a promising selfie-centric phone; we are particularly impressed with quality of the image taken from the front-camera and it can take 4K resolution video and also boast 120-degree wide angle view capture mode. As far as the other aspects such as build quality, design language, battery, processor, RAM+storage+battery configuration is concerned, Asus phone is a pretty good package for its price-tag of Rs 23,999.
Stay tuned. We will be coming up with a more detailed review of Asus Zenfone 4 Selfie Pro in a week or two.
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